Rhein Tech Laboratories 360 Herndon Parkway Suite 1400 Herndon, VA 20170 http://www.rheintech.com AMCO Automated Systems Pit Water-Meter Transponder FCC ID: G8JVRT03 FCC Part 15.231 RTL WO# 2003005 APPENDIX H: MANUAL Please see the following pages.
USER GUIDE TRACE ™ Pit WaterMeter Transponder
Copyright Acknowledgements The contents of this document are the property of AMCO Automated Systems and are copyrighted. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. For additional copies of this document, please contact: AMCO Automated Systems 107 Erskine Lane Scott Depot, WV 25560 Phone 304-757-3300 Fax 304-757-3388 The information contained herein has been carefully checked and is believed to be accurate; however, no responsibility is assumed for inaccuracies.
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: • Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. • Increase the separation distance between the equipment and receiver.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Pit Water-Meter Transponder Manual and Installation Guide Table of Contents Chapter One—Introduction................................................................................. 2 About this Document ....................................................................................... 2 Audience ................................................................................................... 2 Conventions ............................................................................
INTRODUCTION Chapter One Introduction ® The TRACE VRT Transponder is the heart of AMCO Automated Systems’ portfolio of products for automated meter reading (AMR). About this Document The Transponder manual and installation Guide provides instructions for installing and troubleshooting transponders. It also includes an overview of both AMR in general and TRACE technology in particular. Audience This document is designed for utility industry meter readers and supervisory staff.
AMR OVERVIEW Chapter Two Automated Meter Reading Overview The TRACE system uses radio frequency (RF) signals to allow utility personnel to read meters from a distance while the reader is in motion. This technology is called automated meter reading (AMR). This technology greatly increases the speed at which routes can be covered with a high degree of accuracy.
TRACE SYSTEM OVERVIEW The TRACE AMR System Overview In addition to standard automated meter reading functions, AMCO’s TRACE system portfolio of products permits the remote recording of tamper conditions and linking of meter latitude and longitude data using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. With the optional Vehicle Interactive Display, TRACE makes driver-to-meter orientation more intuitive and efficient. TRACE interrogators transmit at 451.35 MHz and receive transponder messages at 415 MHz.
TRACE SYSTEM OVERVIEW Transponder data acquisition. The transponder is programmed with a unique serial number at the time of manufacture. The transponder queries the water meter register/encoder and stores this reading in memory.The transponder also records changes to the tamper detection sensor. Route information loading. Route data includes meter account number, address and latitude/longitude coordinates (when available), and transponder serial number.
VRT TRANSPONDER OVERVIEW Chapter Three Pit Water-Meter Transponder Overview The TRACE VRT Water Transponder is designed for use with most water meters from AMCO Water Metering System, Badger, Sensus, and Neptune. The transponder maintains the current time and date, which are used to record real-time data for retrieval as required during the normal read cycle.
VRT TRANSPONDER OVERVIEW How the Pit Water Transponder Works The transponder polls the water meter register/encoder for the meter reading and stores this value in the transponder’s memory. The interval at which the transponder polls the register/encoder is referred to as the encoder latency and is programmable by the user. The default value for the encoder latency is 1 hour.
VRT TRANSPONDER OVERVIEW 12:07:00 PM is not a valid time). TOU registers must end at the end of the hour or in 15-minute intervals thereafter (01:59:59 PM is a valid stop time / 02:13:59 is not). TOU registers can overlap – for example, TOU 01 can run from 08:00:00 AM until 10:29:59 PM and TOU 02 can run from 10:15:00 AM until 2:29:59 PM. TOU registers can span midnight – a start time of 08:00:00 PM with a stop time of 01:59:59 AM is valid. Leak Detect. TBD Leak Interval. TBD Leak Consumption.
VRT W ATER TRANSPONDER INSTALLATION & PROGRAMMING Chapter Four Pit Water-Meter Transponder Installation & Programming Installation For proper installation of the transponder onto the water meter, please contact the manufacturer of the water meter register/encoder. Programming Please refer to the SRP manual for programming instructions, if required. 1. Current Date This value is programmed at the factory, but will be lost in the event of a power interruption.
VRT W ATER TRANSPONDER INSTALLATION & PROGRAMMING TBD 9. Leak Consumption TBD 10. Meter Type TBD 11. Next Daylight Saving Time Day Number The transponder’s internal clock will automatically switch to daylight saving time on the date represented by the value entered into this field. The value must represent a future date. Please refer to table [TABLE 01] for a list of valid entries.
TROUBLESHOOTING Chapter Five Troubleshooting The following table offers troubleshooting tips for some common Transponder conditions. For all other matters, contact AMCO Automated Systems.
TROUBLESHOOTING Table 01 - DST / ST Date Values Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Daylight Saving Time Starts Date Day No.
TROUBLESHOOTING Table 02 - TOU Time Slots Time Slot Start Time End Time Time Slot Start Time End Time Time Slot Start Time End Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 12:00:00 AM 12:15:00 AM 12:30:00 AM 12:45:00 AM 1:00:00 AM 1:15:00 AM 1:30:00 AM 1:45:00 AM 2:00:00 AM 2:15:00 AM 2:30:00 AM 2:45:00 AM 3:00:00 AM 3:15:00 AM 3:30:00 AM 3:45:00 AM 4:00:00 AM 4:15:00 AM 4:30:00 AM 4:45:00 AM 5:00:00 AM 5:15:00 AM 5:30:00 AM 5:45:00 AM 6:00:00 AM 6:1
